Moved!

Hey everyone! I wanted to let you all know that I have moved my blog over to Living a Healthy Fit n Free Life with Coach Carrie. Yep, I made that leap to Word Press!

I also have a giveaway going on over there as well!! Come check out the Rockin Body Giveaway!!

Giveaway

Enter to win  an assortment of 15 Balance Bare bars in three flavors, Blueberry Acai, Sweet and Salty Chocolate Almond, and Sweet and Salty Peanut Butter, a Balance Water bottle, and a “Bare Hug” card. The winner will also get a a case of OxyWater! 

Head on over to The Mommyhood Chronicles!!

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme

Have you guys checked out the HUGE GameStop Giveaway going on over at TodaysMama until December 10th! If you haven't then you should go check it out!!! Here is just a sampling of the things they are giving away:

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme

TodaysMama (link to: http://bit.ly/tmwishlist) and GameStop (link to: http://bit.ly/gamestop10) are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.



1. What is your holiday wish for your family?
My holiday wish would have to be seeing my girls happy.

2. What is your Christmas morning tradition?
When the girls wake us up we head to the Christmas tree to open presents. After they open all the presents then I head to the kitchen to make breakfast.

3. If you could ask Santa for one, completely decadent wish for yourself, what would it be?
Oh, that would so be a bigger house!


4. How do you make the holidays special without spending any money?
I try and play games that are fun with the girls.


5. What games did you play with your family growing up?
We used to play a lot of card games especially Hawaiian Rummy! That was my fave!


6. What holiday tradition have you carried on from your own childhood?
That would have to be opening presents as soon as we get up.


7. Where would you go for a Christmas-away-from-home trip?
I would love to take the girls to Disney World!


8. Check out GameStop (link to: http://bit.ly/gamestop10) and tell us, what are the three top items on your GameStop Wish List this year?

1.  Nintendo DS Lite Cobalt/Black
2. Nintendo Wii Black Bundle
3. Kinect for Xbox 360 with Kinect Adventures  



BUT WAIT. Did you think we were done? Oh, you must not know us at all.


We have another stockpile of gifts from GameStop that you can enter to win with our extra entry options.


■Runner Up #1 will receive a XBox 360 250 GB with Kinect and a $250 GameStop gift card.

■Runner Up #2 will receive a Nintendo Red DSi XL Bundle and a $250 GameStop gift card.

■Runner Up #3 will receive a Nintendo Red Wii Bundle and a $250 GameStop gift card.

Extra Entry Options include:

■“Like” Gamestop on Facebook

■Follow @gamestop on Twitter

■Head back to the tippy-top of this post and hit that “Retweet” button.

Our Breast Cancer Support!

I know I didn't talk at all last month about Breast Cancer Awareness, but I would love to right now!! A local hair place did an amazing event! For $5 you can get your hair highlighted pink to support our Yolanda G. Barco Oncology Institute. So, my daughter and I had a girls day and went and got our hair highlighted PINK to support the cause.

Breast cancer has affected my family and I for a long time. When I was about 12 my aunt was diagnosed with a very aggressive type of cancer. She had 3 boy, the littlest was 3.... After being diagnosed she lived for about a year. One night my mom decided to take the littlest to our house to stay the night. Well, that was the night that she passed.... He usually slept with his mommy at night, so it was a blessing that he was with my mom. *She was waiting for him not to be there.*

It is just heart wrenching when someone so close is just gone.....

Yoga Event Winners!!

The Winner of the alo Bamboo Short Sleeve Tee is:

True Random Number Generator


Result:
11

11. sarah said...
I follow you on Friend Connect and I follow alo on Twitter
October 8, 2010 8:22 PM

Congratulations Susan!!

The Winner of the Aurorae Yoga Mat & Slip Free Rosin Bag is:

True Random Number Generator
Result:
77

The Winning Comment:

77. susan said...
I follow via gfc and I would choose the pink one :)
October 22, 2010 5:01 PM

Congratulations Susan!!

Truvia Swap Out Your Sweetener (SOYS) Challenge!

Honey can be sweet and yummy, but also can get very expensive when you drink lotsa coffee! Splenda was outta the house a long time ago, and sugar well its around I just don't like to use it all that much because it just makes me feel like crap.

So join me on this 30 day Challenge to swap out my sweetener! I know lots of you are thinking "oh no another too good to be true sweetener!" Well, that's right it is TOO GOOD, or shall I say sweet! If you have not heard about Truvia then let me give you a little info...

Truvia begins with the Stevia plant that people have been using for hundreds of years to sweeten their food and drinks. The taste comes from a part of the leaf that is called rebiana. This rebiana is what gives Truvia the sweet simple taste. Rebiana, Erythritol and natural flavors are the only ingredients that are in Truvia. Erythritol is also a natural form of a sweetener that is also found in naturally in fruits and fermented foods.

If you may still be a little sceptical here is a little more info on the Stevia plant:

Stevia is a genus of about 240 species of herbs and shrubs in the sunflower family (Asteraceae), native to subtropical and tropical regions from western North America to South America. The species Stevia rebaudiana, commonly known as sweetleaf, sweet leaf, sugarleaf, or simply stevia, is widely grown for its sweet leaves. As a sweetener and sugar substitute, stevia's taste has a slower onset and longer duration than that of sugar, although some of its extracts may have a bitter or licorice-like aftertaste at high concentrations.


With its extracts having up to 300 times the sweetness of sugar, stevia has garnered attention with the rise in demand for low-carbohydrate, low-sugar food alternatives. Medical research has also shown possible benefits of stevia in treating obesity and high blood pressure. Because stevia has a negligible effect on blood glucose, it is attractive as a natural sweetener to people on carbohydrate-controlled diets.

The availability of stevia varies from country to country. In a few countries, it has been available as a sweetener for decades or centuries; for example, stevia is widely used as a sweetener in Japan where it has been available for decades. In some countries, stevia is restricted or banned. In other countries, health concerns and political controversies have limited its availability; for example, the United States banned stevia in the early 1990s unless labeled as a supplement, but in 2008 approved rebaudioside-A extract as a food additive. Over the years, the number of countries in which stevia is available as a sweetener has been increasing.

Courtesy From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Here is some more info on  Erythritol:

Erythritol ((2R,3S)-butane-1,2,3,4-tetraol) is a natural sugar alcohol (a type of sugar substitute) which has been approved for use in the United States[1] and throughout much of the world. It was discovered in 1848 by British chemist John Stenhouse.[2] It occurs naturally in fruits and fermented foods [3]. At the industrial level, it is produced from glucose by fermentation with a yeast, Moniliella pollinis[1]. It is 60–70% as sweet as table sugar yet it is almost non-caloric, does not affect blood sugar, does not cause tooth decay, and is absorbed by the body, therefore unlikely to cause gastric side effects unlike other sugar alcohols. Under U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) labeling requirements, it has a caloric value of 0.2 kilocalories per gram (95% less than sugar and other carbohydrates), though nutritional labelling varies from country to country—some countries like Japan label it as zero-calorie, while European Union regulations currently label it and all other sugar alcohols at 2.4 kcal/g.
Courtesy From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

After reading this it's no wonder our country is so over weight! Other countries have been using these things for years as natural sweeteners and it seems that we are just being introduced to it! After reading all this information, because I do have to admit that I was skeptical at first about Truvia, but know after trying it for the first time and reading this info Truvia will be the only sweetener that I use!

So, join me for the next 30 days as I Swap Out Your Sweetener(SOYS)! I am planning on making a few things that Truvia has on their recipe page. You can also join in on the challenge! Just head on over to MapTruvia.com and to get your free sample and tell them that I sent you! Its that simple and sweet!

Disclaimer: I'm one of 30 bloggers who have been selected to be a part of the 30 day Truvia “Swap Out Your Sweetener” Challenge. This campaign is put on by Collective Bias. I was sent free full size products to use and review, but this is my simple honest opinion of this product!

Every Little Girls Princess Dreams......

It's alot of fun having two girls sometimes.Every little girl dreams of having her very own princess wand, I do too sometimes. Here is a beautiful wand for any little girl big or small!

Our Whiskey Lullaby is giving away a princess wand to a very special little princess! Any little girl would love this! Ends October 28!

Next a little princess needs to have her own magical horse. Whether it be a Pegasus or a unicorn every little girl needs one of these!

Lisa Reviews has a magical giveaway going on over at her site to win both a Pegasus and a unicorn! That would truly full fill those little dreams! Ends October 27th at 11:59 pm CST

And last but not least every little princess needs a cute pair of leggings! They also look especially cute with a little tutu!

The maker of these little tutus and leggings is hosting a giveaway on her blog Mama runs with scissors. This is a weekly contests so check it out, each weekly contest will open on the prior MONDAY and close on THURSDAY 12am pacific time.

Seeing how this is Friday and the other contest isn't open right now, head on over to Baby Gear Today she is  giving away a pair of Kool Kid Legs to 1 viewer! Ends October 31, 2010 at 1159 Pacific Time


 And these cute books from The Fry Company would so complete the look for the cute little princess! Not to mention the durable quality that my girls need because I am sure these would be handed down to the Little Princess!

For my little Cowgirl Princess that is! Head on over to Just for Me...and You to enter the giveaway! Ends October 31st at midnight!

My two Cowgirl Princess!

Getting back to Me.....

Its been over two years since I have been on depression medication. During my pregnancy with my last girl, I became severely depressed because of the pregnancy. I had to quit my job because of all the complications that I was having. Bella was also sitting right on my sciatic nerve, which caused me server back and hip pain. I could not sleep at all because of the pain. At about six months into the pregnancy I just had had enough. I ended up calling my mom balling my eyes out because I just could not take any more of it. My mom being the RN that she is told me to call my doctor NOW and tell them that I needed something for depression. That is when my life became numb...................

Now over two years have passed and I was still on it. Two weeks ago I ran out of my prescription. I had a doctors appointment on Tuesday, so I figured I would be ok until then. The first week was like any other week except for all the new drama that we have been dealt with(furnace shooting flames out of it{resolved have a new one waiting to get hooked up} JR hit a deer with the Jeep, dealing with my insane grandmother, just to name the major issues). The medication also takes a few days to get out of your system.

This week I have been actually experiencing EMOTIONS. Something that I have not felt in a long time. I have been happy, sad, funny, a bitch, and playful. These are things that I have not felt in a long time and it just really hit me at this moment what all I have been missing out of my life.........

JR and I used to playfully bitch at each other and play around wrestling with each other. I can't remember the last time that we actually did that, besides tonight. I have been more involved with playing with my girls than I have ever been. I used to love to bake and I have been baking and cooking more things. I used to be so creative and for awhile I thought that I had really lost my spark, but even just in typing this post I can feel that it's coming back. I have actually cried this last week....the last time that I cried was before I was on medication. It's healthy to cry once in awhile to let out the emotions that you are feeling, but I wasn't felling any emotions so I never cried.

I may have been somewhat of a bitch at times this week, but now that I am thinking about it I have been expressing my opinion. Any more if I had a thought I would not voice it, I would just let it go. This week I have been truly voicing my opinions.

One side effect of the medication is a low sex drive and I have to agree with that one. I have had no drive what so ever and JR has been somewhat understanding. It is also very difficult to achieve an O. Well, I have to say this week has been amazing!!

I want my life back, the old me, the girl that my husband fell in love with! I don't think I will be picking up my medication.... Do you have any thoughts? If you do feel free to tell me! As soon as I tell my mom she is gonna go off on me and tell me that I need to keep taking them, so good bad, please comment!!

~Exhale: Core Fusion Yoga~ Review & Giveaway

Exhale Core Fusion Yoga Energy Flow with Fred DeVito and Elisabeth Halfpapp features a flowing, energizing, fast paced yoga workout! Fred DeVito and Elisabeth Halfpapp are the creators of Core Fusion and the founding team members of Exhale spa, who have transformed peoples bodies with exhale.

Let me tell you this is a great yoga workout! The first time that I did this one I was sweating like crazy, but loving it! Fred and Elisabeth lead you through five, ten minute segments, or you can choose to play them all for a full fifty minutes of some fast paced yoga!

Most of the yoga poses that is performed in this DVD are somewhat basic yoga poses, but with a little added umph to really get your body moving. I did this workout numerous times all the way through and also selected different segments. Most of the segments really focus on core work, but this is so an overall body workout. They also perform Chaturanga Dandasana or also called low push up, and let me tell you they are very challenging! I could only come down part of the way.

I would recommend this Exhale Core Fusion Yoga Energy Flow with Fred DeVito and Elisabeth Halfpapp for anyone who likes yoga and is looking for a great workout!

Head on over to Simply Fitting Into Life...and my old jeans to enter to win a copy!!

*I received Exhale Core Fusion Yoga Energy Flow from Acacia. I was not compensated in any way to write this post. This is my true, honest, simple review of this wonderful DVD.

CSN Review

CSN stores is an amazing company that I am sure by now that many of you have heard of. They have over 200 online stores where you can find everything from  cheap bedroom furniture to yoga accessories! CSN was kind enough to send me some great yoga accessories for this Yoga Event! I received a Gaiam Yoga Essentials Block, Gaiam 8' D-Ring Organic Cotton Yoga Straps, Gaiam Damask Printed Yoga Mat Bag, & Gaiam YogaKids 1 for Ages 3-6 DVD.

The Gaiam Yoga Essentials Block is an excellent block for beginners as wells advanced people the love to do yoga!

Here are some of the features of this great block:

•Yoga essentials block

•Lightweight

•Provides the stability needed for optimal alignment, deeper poses and increased strength
•Feel tight, don't risk injury

•Durable foam with a nonslip surface

•Available in the following colors: Purple, robin's egg

This block has really helped me with stretching! I have never been this flexible in my life.

 Gaiam 8' D-Ring Organic Cotton Yoga Straps

This strap has really come in handy with many poses, especially with Ardha matsyendrasan (Half Spinal Twist, advanced). I have been able to slowly bring my hands closer together, but still cannot quite get them together. This one will take alot of time to get, but this strap has really helped me to get closer.

Some of the Features:

•8' D-Ring organic cotton yoga strap
•Gaiam's durable 100% organic cotton webbing stretch strap is easy to thread and adjust thanks to its sturdy metal D ring
•8' strap available in natural only
•100% organic cotton webbing
•Helps you stretch and properly position your body in yoga poses
•Easy to thread and adjust

 Gaiam Damask Printed Yoga Mat Bag





First of all I cannot tell you how much I love this bag! Being a sucker for Damask prints I saw this and I just had to have it! At first I was a little concerned if my mat would fit in this bag, but I was pleasantly surprised that it did!! There is actually plenty of room not only on the sides, but on the top when the mat is in the bag, just enough room for a change of clothes or a towel. Also to my surprise this bag features three more outside pockets! The larger pocket could holds my strap and towel, with more room to put stuff. I was also very surprised to find another pocket just for an ipod! It even has a little hole for your head phone cord to come out of. Another pocket has a zipper closure for any money that you may have.

Here are some other features to this great bag:

•Damask printed bag

•Drawstring closure
•Coordinating color and graphics help you to avoid bag mix-up at your studio
•100% cotton
•Shoulder strap
•Zippered pocket holds your keys or cell phone
•Printed damask design

Gaiam YogaKids 1 for Ages 3-6 DVD

I really want my girls to love and enjoy yoga as much as I do. Joc has always been trying to follow me with it and now Bella has also tried to follow me. In fact whenever I do practice when they are up, they are usually pushing me off the mat. They are trying to be like mommy and do what she does, so that is one of the biggest reasons for choosing this DVD, so that they can have their own yoga time.

This DVD is not only fun for the kids, but it is also a bit educational. Joc and Bella really have a great time with this DVD, when they aren't fighting for room on the mat. Note to self... will have to purchase another mat so they are not fighting over mine! Joc loves to do the whole thing through, but Bella, being only 2 it holds her attention for about 20-30 minutes. Bella is so funny trying to do the poses. Joc for the most part can do all of them well, *when she feels like it*. Mind you these two girls have some attitude! I have noticed that when they do practice this their attitudes are a little bit better than they were before they did the yoga.

Here are some Features:

•YogaKids DVD
•Features beloved instructor Marsha Wenig
•Taking cues from animals, trees and the nature of the world
•3 to 6 year-olds follow she guides creatively-adapted yoga basics set to playful original songs
•Building a sense of accomplishment with every pose
•Give children build physical fitness self-confidence challenge coordination and imagination
•20 basic yoga poses recreated for 3 to 6 year-olds
•Follow-the-leader approach with safe, expert instruction
•Activities to build coordination, confidence and imagination
•40 minutes DVD

Come check out the CSN Giveaway over at Simply Fitting Into Life...and my old jeans!

*I received these items for review purposes only and was not compensated for this post. This is my honest, simple opinion.